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Old Drivers Could Cause WiFi Issues After Windows 10 Update

Does your computer contain a Qualcomm wireless network adapter? If so, be aware that Microsoft is warning you that your system may suffer a sporadic loss of Wi-Fi connectivity after installing the Windows 10 update.

The update was released in May 2019, stemming from an issue with out-of-date network drivers.

If you haven't yet installed the May 2019 update and you want to, you'll need to jump through an extra hoop by going to device's manufacturer and downloading the latest Wi-Fi driver. Note that you will not be able to install the May 2019 Windows 10 update without taking this step.

According to the official Microsoft bulletin on the matter: "To safeguard your upgrade experience, we have applied a hold on devices with this Qualcomm driver from being offered Windows 10, 1903, until the updated driver is installed."

Here's another thing to bear in mind about the May 2019 Windows 10 update. Once it is installed, you will start seeing alerts in the form of pop-up boxes any time you connect to Wi-Fi networks that are secured with TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) or WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). These are older protocols with several known, serious security flaws.

According to Microsoft, "In a future release, any connection to a Wi-Fi network using these old ciphers will be disallowed. Wi-Fi routers should be updated to use AES ciphers, available with WPA2 or WPA3."

In other words, the end is nigh for any technology that uses TKIP or WEP protocols for Wi-Fi connections. If that's what you've got, it's time to upgrade your equipment.

Overall, most technology experts regard this as a good move. Sure, it comes across as a bit heavy handed, but as past experience has shown, if Microsoft didn't take a rather aggressive step like this, nothing would change. Kudos to Microsoft!